Leave No One Behind: The Forum of International Respiratory Societies Calls for Equitable Access to Prevention and Treatment on World Lung Day 2023

This World Lung Day, Sept. 25, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) and its founding member the American Thoracic Society, is calling on governments and health care providers worldwide to give equitable access to preventative services and treatments for respiratory conditions, and lifesaving pneumonia vaccines for children.

Getting vaccines for flu, RSV, pneumonia and COVID.

David Winter, MD, at Baylor Scott & White Health, answers the most common patient questions and reacts to the latest medical research. With flu season approaching, who should get a flu shot and when? (SOT@ :14, TRT :24) RSV cases…

Several vaccines associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease in adults 65 and older

Prior vaccination against tetanus and diphtheria, with or without pertussis (Tdap/Td); herpes zoster (HZ), better known as shingles; and pneumococcus are all associated with a reduced risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research from UTHealth Houston.

Kentucky physician explores new pediatric care protocols in developing nations

George Fuchs, M.D., a pediatric gastroenterologist at Kentucky Children’s Hospital, conducted a years-long trial in Bangladesh testing a model of healthcare delivery for children with pneumonia. The results have the potential to change pediatric care in developing nations.

NIH-Funded Research to Develop Pneumonia Severity Prediction Tool to Improve Emergency Care of Children

Todd Florin, MD, MSCE, from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago recently was awarded a $5.8 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for a multicenter study to derive and broadly validate the first emergency department (ED)-based pediatric community-acquired pneumonia severity (PedCAPS) score. This objective score will help avoid many unnecessary hospitalizations in children at low risk of severe outcomes, while targeting more focused therapies towards the lower proportion of children at highest risk for severe disease.

Machine Learning Diagnoses Pneumonia by Listening to Coughs #ASA183

Researchers have developed a machine learning algorithm to identify cough sounds and determine whether the subject is suffering from pneumonia. Because every room and recording device is different, they augmented their recordings with room impulse responses, which measure how the acoustics of a space react to different sound frequencies. By combining this data with the recorded cough sounds, the algorithm can work in any environment.

Physicians urged to consider fungal infections as possible cause for lung inflammation

UC Davis Health infectious diseases expert George Thompson warns of the rising threat and apparent spread of disease-causing fungi outside their traditional hot spots. Fungal lung infections are commonly misdiagnosed, leading to delays in treatment and increase in antimicrobial resistance in the community.

Tiny swimming robots treat deadly pneumonia in mice

UC San Diego engineers have developed microscopic robots, called microrobots, that can swim around in the lungs, deliver medication and be used to clear up life-threatening cases of bacterial pneumonia. In mice, the microrobots safely eliminated pneumonia-causing bacteria in the lungs and resulted in 100% survival. By contrast, untreated mice all died within three days after infection.

MedStar Washington Hospital Center Again Named Among Nation’s Top 50 for Heart Care

MedStar Washington Hospital Center has again achieved national ranking for Cardiology & Heart Surgery in the 2022-23 U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals” rankings. It moved up to No. 28, from No. 30 last year. It is the only nationally recognized heart program of its kind in the Washington metropolitan area. MedStar Washington also earned “high performing” ratings in cancer, gastroenterology & GI surgery, Urology, and in 12 common procedures and conditions.

Study Is First to Examine Fibrocyte Levels in People Hospitalized with COVID-19 Pneumonia

Article title: Blood fibrocytes are associated with severity and prognosis in COVID-19 pneumonia Authors: Mada Ghanem, Méline Homps-Legrand, Marc Garnier, Lise Morer, Tiphaine Goletto, Justine Frija-Masson, Paul-Henri Wicky, Pierre Jaquet, Catherine Bancal, Margarita Hurtado-Nedelec, Luc de Chaisemartin, Madeleine Jaillet, Arnaud…

New study suggests pregnant women hospitalized for COVID-19 do not face increased risk of death

Pregnant women who are hospitalized with COVID-19 and viral pneumonia are less likely than non-pregnant women to die from these infections, according to a new study by researchers with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM).

New Clinical Practice Guideline on Community Acquired Pneumonia;

In its latest clinical practice guideline on community-acquired pneumonia the American Thoracic Society’s guidelines panel addresses the use of nucleic acid-based testing for non-influenza viral pathogens. The guideline was published online in the May 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. An explainer video may be viewed here.

Can Doctors Predict Which Children with Pneumonia Will Develop Mild or Severe Disease?

Currently, there are no evidence-based rules that help physicians in the Emergency Department (ED) predict if a child with community-acquired pneumonia will have a mild disease course that can be treated at home or a more severe illness that requires hospitalization. A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics found that the predictive accuracy of clinical judgement was generally fair, but clinicians were least accurate when predicting progression to severe disease in children initially classified as having “low to moderate” risk, which accounts for a large portion of children presenting with pneumonia.

Amount of COVID Viral RNA Detected at Hospital Admission Predicts How Patients Will Fare

A new study published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society examines whether the amount of RNA, or genomic load, of SARS-CoV-2 detected in swab tests of patients being admitted to the hospital with viral pneumonia is associated with more severe COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19. Previous studies on this question have had conflicting results.

.@UChicagoMedicine experts can discuss #Tocilizumab research; Drug may reduce need for ventilators in #COVID19 pneumonia

Roche made news today as research showed its drug (tocilizumab) reduced patients’ need for ventilators for those with COVID-19-associated pneumonia. A University of Chicago Medicine team has done separate, independent research on tocilizumab and found similar results in their own phase II trial.…

Scientists Aim Gene-Targeting Breakthrough Against COVID-19

Scientists at Berkeley Lab and Stanford have joined forces to aim a gene-targeting, antiviral agent called PAC-MAN against COVID-19.

Blood Test Indicators of Infection Response Do Not Generally Predict Severity of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Children

Blood biomarkers that reflect the body’s response to infection – including white blood cell count, absolute neutrophil count, C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin – are generally not useful in predicting the overall severity of community-acquired pneumonia in children, according to a study published in Pediatrics.

Arthritis Drug Presents Promise as Treatment for COVID-19 Pneumonia

UC San Diego Health has launched a Phase III clinical trial to assess whether a medication used to treat rheumatoid might also have therapeutic value for patient with COVID-19 who have developed or are at high risk of developing serious lung damage from SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Artificial Intelligence Enables Rapid COVID-19 Lung Imaging Analysis at UC San Diego Health

With support from Amazon Web Services, UC San Diego Health physicians are using AI in a clinical research study aimed at speeding the detection of pneumonia, a condition associated with severe COVID-19.

Russian biologist explains recent findings regarding coronavirus structure

MOSCOW (MIPT) — The atomic structure of the novel coronavirus envelope has explained why it is exceptionally contagious. Its structural features make it much easier for the Chinese coronavirus to bind to target receptors, compared with the previously known SARS…

Scientists May Have a Way to Let Preemies Breathe Easier

The continuing epidemic of pre-term birth includes this stark reality: tiny, fragile babies are born with underdeveloped lungs and prone to lifelong respiratory infections and related chronic illnesses. Cincinnati Children’s researchers report in Immunology the discovery of a complex biological process could in the development of cost effective treatments to help babies develop lifelong pulmonary resistance to respiratory infections.

Russian expert is ready to comment on the coronavirus

Pavel Volchkov heads the Genome Engineering Lab at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), that has several key projects, all of them involving genome editing mediated by the CRISPR/Cas technology. Discovered just a few years ago, CRISPR/Cas has…

AI System Accurately Detects Key Findings in Chest X-Rays of Pneumonia Patients Within 10 Seconds: Study Finds Promise of Faster Treatment

From 20 minutes or more to 10 seconds. Researchers from Intermountain Healthcare and Stanford University say 10 seconds is about how quickly a new system they studied that utilizes artificial intelligence took to accurately identify key findings in chest X-rays of patients in the emergency department suspected of having pneumonia.